Sai and Sufi Tradition: An Islamic View
The Sufi tradition found its milestone of advaitic thought in the beliefs of Ibn al‑Arabi (1165‑1240) and the widespread acceptance of his theory of Wahdat‑al-Wujud [unity of being]. Al‑Arabi is nearer to Vedic and Baba’s teaching than any other Sufi outside India. A keen student of Sai literature will find similarities in ideas and imagery between Baba’s discourses and Al‑Arabi’s writing. Four ideas of Al‑Arabi are significant.
(i) According to Al‑Arabi, the One and the many are two aspects of the One. “The One reveals Himself in the many … it is like a source of light from which an infinite number of lights are derived… it is like a mighty sea on the surface of which we observe countless waves, forever appearing and disappearing.” The two aspects of One reality were called tanzih [nirguna–formless] and tasbih [sadguna–good qualities] by Al-Arabi.
(ii) Al‑Arabi used the term “emanation” to mean the constant appearance of form of the same Reality.
(iii) Al-Arabi’s idea of the perfect man is equated with logos [word of God] and the spirit‑giving principle immanent in the universe.
(iv) Like Baba, Al‑Arabi rejected the place of reason in understanding the purpose of human existence. Baba gives the example of the same electric current running through different electric devices. Al-Arabi gives the image of light passing through colored glasses to suggest One Reality manifesting itself in men of different abilities. Intuition, not reason, reveals the purpose of existence. The purpose of life is to realize the divine union that already exists between God and man. Al‑Arabi advised Sufis that tolerance, human compassion, and fellowship were indispensable features of spiritual life. Like Baba, he also urged that the Divine exists and is worshipped in all religions. Instinctively Al‑Arabi believed in the one Universal God. I recall what Baba said in one of His discourses: “The monistic concept of divinity expounded to Arjuna by Krishna in Bhagavad Gita harmonizes the teachings of all religions and reconciles all traditions.” (Summer Showers: 1979, P. 119)
Considering love to be the highest manifestation of God, Al‑Arabi declared:
My heart has become the receptacle of every ‘ form’;
It is a pasture for gazelles (objects of love)
A convent for Christian monks,
And a temple for idols, and the pilgrim’s Ka’ba
and the tablets of Torah and the Book of the Quran.
I follow the religion of love, whichever way its camels take.
For this is my religion and my faith.
The major branch of Sufi tradition that developed in India observed this broader horizon of divinity and love, whether it flourished in the valley of Kashmir and was called the Rishi‑Sufi order or welcomed the Nath Yogis [Yogis of the Shiva tradition] to its assemblies and learned Hatha‑Yoga from them. The Baul Movement [group of mystic minstrels] in Bengal during the 15th century followed the same ideal of Unity of God. A popular group of Muslim and Hindu singers, the Bauls were ‘men of hearts’, non‑dualistic and mystical; they used songs in the tradition of Chaitanya.
The popularity of Vaishnavite [worship of Vishnu] themes in Sufi Sama [music recitals] was widespread as it induced ecstasy. In 1566 a Sufi dictionary of Hindi songs was compiled, which among other things explained the Krishna theme and symbolism in Sufi terminology. These are only a few examples from a treasure‑house of a million others to suggest the direction in which Indian Sufi tradition was moving. The growing emphasis on the universal concept of love was a strong trend that has found its goal in the presence of Sai. “The path of love is the royal road that leads mankind to Me.”
(Baba: Who is Sai)
To the Sufi seeker the goal is important and not sectarianism and dialectics. The secret of this goal is best described by Masud‑i‑Bak, a Sufi from Delhi. All names, says the mystic, refer to the One name, in all forms only the one face is hidden, and in all religions one road is concealed. This is the Truth that Sai embodies.
Continue your worship of your chosen God along the lines already familiar to you. Then you will find that you are coming nearer to Me, for all names are Mine and all forms are Mine.
(Baba: Why I Incarnate)
Eight roses
They worshipped Him with flowers and songs, with camphor and prayers. They entreated Him with tears and sighs. They waited on Him with folded hands and smiling lips. He remained unmoved, reclining on the sky‑blue swing of the heart. And in the fragrance of flowers, in the rhythm of the music, in the silence of tears and smiles He hid from them—the Subtlest of the Subtle. “I do not cause either joy or grief,” He said, “you are the designer of both these chains that bind you.” And all that He asked for was their love and devotion presented to Him as the eight flowers of non‑violence, sense‑control, compassion to all living beings, forbearance, shanti [peace], meditation, and truth.
A Sufi would pluck these flowers and offer them to Him for they have grown in his garden for centuries. The ten qualities that all the Sufis were expected to cultivate and that were repeated in Sufi literature and nourished in Sufi tradition were an elaboration of the eight “good qualities” Baba has pointed out (Sanathana Sarathi, June 1981, pp. 142‑45). Of these, peace and truth are most significant because they are also the attributes of the Divine Beloved.
However, the eight good qualities are signs of a pure heart, the shrine for the Lord. “I am the dweller in the temple of every heart,” says Sai. “Make your best endeavor to worship at the temple of the heart,” advised the Sufi, Abdullah Ansari.
Para bhakti [pure, transparent, and simple devotion] can only be offered in the bowl of service to society for “he who takes care of man takes care of God” (Ibn al‑Arabi). It is only then that the fortunate one‑in‑a million devotee reaches the doors and experiences the significance of the Quranic greeting: “peace—a word from thy Lord, most merciful.” An ancient promise that might have taken 1000 years or more is fulfilled as the Divine voice welcomes.
“I am anandaswarupa [embodiment of bliss]. Come, take ananda from Me, dwell in that ananda or bliss and be full of shanti or peace.”
(Baba: Why I incarnate)
~Zeba Bashiruddin
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, April 1982
